Lighting the Flame
by xwhats3rnam3x
Summary: While cleaning, Harry and Ron come across a strange picture of an old love. Can they fix a platonic friendship into a true love? RL NT(pretend she's older)
1. Sweet Sixteen

Hey everybody! So I'm writing my very first fic. There are some things I think I need to point out though: 1) Pretend Tonks is about 3 years younger than the Marauders. I know that's not right, so don't send me angry letters complaining. There aren't any single/alive women around that age, and Tonks is the only single woman above the age of 18. Own characters are annoying and personally, I'm not a fan of relationships where someone is old enough to be the other's parent. 2) Some people (mostly Harry, maybe a little Ron) may be a tiny bit OOC. I just want to make Harry a little happier, because you can't have a depressed person matchmaking.

So...

Summary: While cleaning the house, Ron and Harry come across a shocking picture of an old love. Now, they're playing matchmaker! Can they fix an almost nonexistent friendship into true love? LupinTonks! (Just pretend she's older)

Title: Lighting the Flame (I know it's corny, just go with it, I'll change it if I get a better one)

Rating: PG-13, just to be safe

Disclaimer: Guess what? I don't own anything that may seem familiar to you. So...

----

"Harry!" Hermione screamed, engulfing her best friend in a bear hug. "How are you? I do hope your okay; I've read such awful things about what happens when someone close to a teenager...well...you know, and I was so worried Harry, honestly. I wanted to have you stay here the whole time, but Dumbledore had his reasons. I definitely don't want to defy, Dumbledore, but he must not know how awful you feel. Oh, Harry!" she ranted.

"Her...mione...I can't breathe...Harry choked out, grinning.

"How ya doin mate?" asked Ron, grinning and giving his friend a manly hug.

"Well..." Harry began. Where should he start? He was angry, upset, and confused. He couldn't help kicking Dudley's Xbox while playing a vigorous game of Halo 2. He couldn't help it; his parents and the closest thing he had to a parent were dead, and he thought he was going to spend the summer with muggles who don't give a shit about him. Although later, Harry regretted it because Halo 2 was fun.

"Actually...I found something fun to do," Harry said honestly. He looked at the eager look on his two best friends' faces. "Singing. I'm horrible, and it drives Dudley mad. Like, on a rainy day, I'll start singing that stupid Brady Bunch song. You know, _Oh I think I'll go for a walk outside now, the summer sun's calling my name!" _

_"I hear you now I just can't stay inside all day! I gotta get out; get me some of those ra-a-ays!" _Hermione finished. Ron just looked confused.

"Yeah. That one. I was actually distracted for a minute from...well, you know." Harry said, feeling the grin slide of his face. He instantly regretted mentioning Sirius. It had been hard for him to move on...part of him still felt like Sirius was still there with him. He dared not to mention that aloud, because Hermione would have a fit, and soon rumors would be spreading that Harry was an attention-seeking prat, due to being rather neglected in his earlier years. He had a feeling Mrs. Weasley would go crazy, and maybe even make him see a shrink.

"Oh," Hermione said softly. She was saved from further response though, because Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, Bill, Charlie, Fred, George, Percy, and Lupin came running down the stairs of Number 12, Grimmauld Place like a bunch of 10-year olds on Christmas.

Once again, he was hugged, greeted, and ranted about. Though everyone was worried about him, and he was still very upset, angry, and confused, he couldn't help standing there, just grinning madly.

Harry didn't notice, but Ron and Hermione had crept out form he crowd. They were in the kitchen, hiding secretly.

"Ready?" Hermione whispered.

"Ready," he replied whispering.

The two came out, staggering under the weight of the heavy object they were carrying. As soon as Harry saw what they were up to, his face lit up like the little sticks on the object.

"Cake!" he screamed, sounding like a two year old who knew few words.

"Yes Harry, cake. Good boy, sound it out," Ron teased.

"For me?" Harry asked feebly. Before he knew it, everyone burst into song.

_Happy birthday to you_

_Happy birthday to you_

_Happy birthday dear Harry_

_Happy Birthday to you!_

"Well Harry dear, it is your birthday. Not to mention, you're Sweet Sixteen! With all you've been through, you deserve your own holiday, let alone a party! But we thought a good old fashioned birthday party would be best considering...well, that" Mrs. Weasley explained.

Harry was in shock. He couldn't do anything, except stand there and grin.

There was only one time in his life he had a cake, and that was his very first birthday. Harry was very young and remembered little. All he remembered were 2 voices singing, and a large chocolate-y thing. Baby Harry just wanted the cake, and just began digging in with his hands. The last thing he could remember were the two people laughing before his memory went blank.

----The Next Day----

Ron was sprawled on the dirty floor reading _Which Broomstick. _Harry laid all over the dusty chair flipping through _Quidditch Weekly. _Suddenly, Hermione came running in.

"Do you do anything that doesn't involve Quidditch or food?!" she asked angrily. Harry and Ron shrugged nonchalantly, and went back to reading. "We're supposed to cleaning!"

Harry got a good look at the place. "Didn't make much progress, did we? It looks the same as when we left for 5th year!"

"Well of course it does; we've been at school and the Order's been very busy! Get off your butts and help clean!" Hermione scolded, growing impatient.

"Could one of you do me a favor?" asked Lupin, poking his head through the doorway.

"Of course, Professor!" Hermione said, slightly blushing.

"Hermione, I'm not your teacher anymore. Call me Remus or Lupin, either is fine." He said smiling.

"Oh...of course, Pro...Remus," she said, now blushing completely.

As soon as she was out of earshot, the two boys burst into laughter. "Someone's got a cru-u-u-sh!" Ron sang in a singsong voice.

"Ewww...," Harry said, wrinkling his nose. "He's old enough to be her _dad_!" The two were now laughing uncontrollably.

"That's crazy!" Ron spat out, a slight tone of jealousy in his voice.

"You know what'd be crazy...Hermione and Draco!" giggled Harry.

"Hermione and Crabbe!" Ron managed to say, laughing harder.

"But...Goyle is secretly in love with her, Crabbe is secretly in love with him! So they get into a fight over Hermione's love!" Harry continued.

"Hermione and Dumbledore!"

"Dumbledore and Hagrid!"

"Hagrid and Ginny!"

"McGonagall and Lockhart!"

"Neville and Cho!"

"Luna and Percy!"

The two boys were rolling on the ground now, practically sobbing from laughing so hard, when Hermione came in. All she saw was two teenagers, sprawled on the floor laughing so hard they were crying.

"Boys..." Hermione said, rolling her eyes.

"Well...I guess we'd better start cleaning now, "Ron said wiping stray tears from eyes 10 minutes later.

They went upstairs, fully unprepared for a single photo that would change lives.

----

Well, how was it? It may not seem like it's going anywhere, but trust me it is. Were they too OOC? If so, I can change it and make other chapters different. And by the way, I actually have been rolling on the floor laughing hysterically for 10 minutes, crying with tears of laughter. Just so you know :-)

And now...a song!!!

Yes, a lovely song advising you all to review.

To the tune of Sunshine Day, by the Brady Bunch:

_Oh, I think I'll go a leave a nice review now_

_The button is calling my name!_

_I hear ya know I just have to press that blue button_

_I gotta click it, give her a nice review-ew-ew_

_Everybody's reviwing!_

_Review day!_

_Everybody's clicking!_

_Review day!_

_Everybody leaves, a review today..._

_It's a review day!_

Aww, wasn't that lovely? Yes it was! Well what are you doing? Review already!


	2. Shocking Discovery

Yay! Chapter 2!!!!

Disclaimer: I still own nothing, wow, how unique...

**Chapter 2-Shocking Discovery**

----

The two boys trudged upstairs, still having after-laughs.

"Where were you two?!" asked Hermione, who seemed to appear out of nowhere. "Go clean the guest bedroom; it's filthy!"

"You sound just like my mum," Ron mumbled so only Harry could hear him.

"Well? What are waiting for? Go!" Hermione screamed, growing impatient.

They walked in the spare guest room, only to find Mrs. Weasley standing in the middle of the room.

"Um...mum?" asked Ron.

"Oh excellent, now you boys can clean the room! I want this room perfectly neat, not a speck of dust anywhere! And no magic!" Mrs. Weasley waltzed out of the room, leaving the two boys a disgusting room to clean on their own.

Ron swiped his fingertip on the top of a table. His fingertip was a solid grey color from the dust. "God, this place is filthy! We'd better get started if we want to finish before we're thirty." He said.

Harry laughed, and started scrubbing the table.

"What a way to spend your break, huh? I thought we were getting a vacation!" Ron grumbled, dusting the bed.

"Don't worry, I've had worse," Harry said. "I'd rather be here cleaning then doing nothing with those muggles anyway."

"I don't know why Hermione is being so bossy though. I mean, she's _always_ been bossy, but did you see her? She was like, screaming at us!" Ron complained.

"Yeah, I noticed that too. Who knows, maybe she has PMS or something," Harry said, shrugging.

Ron had finished dusting the bed, and was now dusting the blue side table. "Yeah," he said laughing, "and you ever mentioned that to her, she'd kill you."

"True," Harry smiled.

"Geez, this table was once light blue! Now it's like...grey!" Ron said. "This is gross, why couldn't everyone else just do it by magic?"

"No idea," Harry said. "I feel like Cinderella."

"Cinder-whata?!" Ron asked, giving him a strange look.

"Cinderella. She was this girl, who was forced to clean by her evil stepsisters. Then, a fairy godmother came, turned her rags into a ball gown and pumpkin into a fancy carriage. So she went to the ball, found her prince charming, got married and lived happily ever after. I've always been able to relate to her. You know, minus the fairy godmother, fancy gown, carriage, Prince Charming, and happily ever after. And you know, I'm not a girl," Harry explained.

Ron nodded, understanding. "So muggles make up these stories?" he asked.

"Yeah. They're called fairy tales. Usually something about a beautiful princess, something bad happening to them, a ball, then finding they're Prince Charming. I have no idea why they're entertaining," Harry explained more.

"Wicked," Ron said, smiling.

"Look! I can do magic without a wand! I have magically turned the table...blue!" Ron said.

Harry laughed. "Now you get to do the drawer."

"Oh, crap." Ron said with a sour look his face.

He opened the drawer, and a cloud of dust flew out. He started coughing, and didn't even notice Hermione walked into he room.

"Are you alright Ron?" she asked.

"Oh...just suffocating...no big deal," he replied, still coughing from the dust.

"Suffocating is not a laughing matter, Ron" Hermione said sternly. "Are you alright Harry?"

"Fine...dirty, but fine. Why?" he asked.

"Oh, just wondering." She replied nonchalantly.

"She wants to make sure you're not going to kill yourself," Ron said. All summer she's been reading this psychology book. She thinks you're going to go on mad killing spree or lock yourself in your room or something."

"I am not! I just want to make sure his troubled adolescent soul is surviving the tremendous amount of grief life has brought him! Of course, _someone _wouldn't care; he only cares if his best friend can play Quidditch!" she yelled at him.

"That's not true! Harry, I swear that's not true! I was worried, but didn't think you'd go killing people!" He screamed back at her.

"It's okay guys, really. Ron, I believe you. Hermione, I'm fine, really, I'm not going to kill myself. Honestly." Harry said, smiling. It was good to know that while the wizarding world was in danger, his two best friends hadn't changed.

"Well...I came in here for a reason. I wanted to talk to you about something," Hermione said seriously.

"Shoot," Ron said.

"Lupin. He seems awfully lonely. Think about it: his two best friends are dead, and his other friend turned out to be a traitor. He's always around your happily married parents, Ron. Now it seems like everyone else in the Order has a boyfriend or girlfriend. Sirius was the only other single man. Lupin looks so pale and stressed out lately. I think we should do something." Hermione stated quietly.

Harry and Ron exchanged glances. "Hermione..." Harry began gently. "We know you mean well but...I don't think Lupin likes you in that way. Plus, he could be your _dad_," Harry finished.

Hermione looked shocked "Ew! I don't mean me! I mean we should at least spend more time with him, or find some other friends for him"

"Oh, okay." Ron said, sounding relieved, but before he could say anything else, there was a loud crash downstairs, followed by "Sorry!"

"Tonks," the three said in unison.

"Mrs. Weasley told me to tell you that you guys could come down when that blue table was clean. She likes that table," Hermione said, leaving the room.

"Great" Ron said sarcastically. He looked in the drawer. "Hey, come here! There's pictures!" he said to Harry, who came running over.

"Look, it's Sirius! Who's he with?" Ron asked.

The picture was, in fact Sirius. He looked about sixteen, and was dancing with some blonde chick. "Don't know," Harry said. "Lupin told me he had a new girlfriend every week."

"Here's another...this time, with a brunette. Another, an Asian girl. Geez, how many are there?"

"My parents..."Harry said softly. Underneath the many pictures of Sirius and his girlfriends was a picture of Lily and James. They looked about 17, which meant they were in their 7th year at Hogwarts. James was dipping Lily toward the ground, and she was giggling and laughing with delight. They looked too happy for something so awful to happen to them.

"Keep it. I know Sirius would want you to have it," Ron insisted. "Let's see, any more? Sirius...Sirius...Sirius...Ooh, look a picture of Snape standing alone on the side. I guess they were having some kind of ball, and Snape couldn't get a date...Sirius...Whoa, check it out!" Ron exclaimed.

Harry glanced over Ron's shoulder. Ron blew the dust off the picture. It was yet another of a dancing couple. But this one wasn't Sirius or James.

"It's Lupin! Who's he dancing with?" Ron said.

The girl had straight brown hair, and suddenly it changed to curly and red. She and Lupin were laughing, and then the girl changed to spiky, pink hair.

"Tonks," the two said in unison.

"This is exactly what Hermione was talking about!" Harry exclaimed.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked, looking confused once again.

"I mean, we should get Lupin and Tonks back together! Harry exclaimed with a mischievous glint in his green eye.

----

You like? C'mon, I want reviews!!! So...I'll just have to leave a song!!

To the tune of Ocean Avenue by Yellowcard

_**If you could review now, things would get better**_

_**I could write more of this awesome story**_

_**I know someway, somehow, you will review**_

_**Let your reviews pile in on my inbox right now-ow-ow**_

Yay! I love making up those songs! Now click!


	3. El Gordo

Come on, review! I'm not writing this for nothing!

**Disclaimer: **If I owned this, I would be super rich, and would not need to write on a website. I could take over the world! Muahahahaha

**Shoutouts**

**Starnat-**Thanks for liking my story! Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Ginny are single, even though Ron and Hermione like each other and Harry and Ginny like each other. Sigh, it reminds me of my own complicated love life...oops, kind of off topic :-) Sorry Hannah, I hate to admit it but no matter how many stories you write, you're never going to be in the magical world of J. K. Rowling's wildest dreams.

**Ilovetom88**-Thank you very much. Is this tom you love hot? At first I thought your sn was I love to m. Hehehe, they don't call me Blondie for nothing.

**Chapter 3-_El Gordo_**

----

**Previous Chapter-**"I mean, we should get Lupin and Tonks back together!" Harry exclaimed with a mischievous glint in his green eye.

----

"Huh?" Ron said, still looking confused.

"Well, Hermione said Lupin was lonely, right?" asked Harry.

"Right..."said Ron.

"And Tonks is single, too," Harry added.

"Uh-huh," Ron said.

"And they already went out before, right?" Harry continued.

"I know! We should get Lupin and Tonks back together!" Ron explained, jumping up and down.

"Brilliant idea, Ron. Never of heard it," Harry said sarcastically, but with a smile on his face.

"Let's go downstairs now!" Ron was so excited; he could not keep still. His eyes were glowing big and bright.

"WAIT!" Harry said, and Ron skidded to a stop. "We have to be sneaky! We can't just say 'Here, go stand there and snog while we leave the room and pretend to ignore you.' It doesn't work like that."

"Then how _does_ it work?" asked Ron.

"Be subtle. See how they act around each other. If she blushes when he passes her the peas, she probably likes him. If there's a lot of giggling, they probably like each other. Talk to Tonks and Lupin as if you never found the photos. Work _slowly_," Harry explained.

"Should we tell Hermione?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, but not yet. After dinner. Otherwise, the others might get suspicious." Harry felt like a kindergarten teacher explaining how to read and write.

"Alrighty, lets go!" Ron said happily. He suddenly stopped in the middle of the doorway. He slowly turned around with a suspicious look on his face. "How do you know all of this?"

Harry laughed. "If there's one thing Mrs. Figg likes, besides cats, its soap operas. Honestly, I used to watch them everyday. Well, when I was 10, I didn't really understand the complex, intriguing plot twists and unique characters. But there was one show I understood, and my favorite episode was when two people were trying to set up their two best friends. I guess it sort of stuck."

"What was the show?" Ron asked.

Harry laughed again. "It was called _El Gordo._ The main male character was named Gordo, but there wasn't a touch of Spanish anywhere. Well, Gordo was supposedly Spanish, but he never spoke Spanish. Come to think of it, he didn't have an accent either..."

"Okay, you can take a stroll down Memory Lane later, I'm starved," Ron said.

They walked down the stairs. Mrs. Weasley was sitting in the living room, talking with Lupin and Tonks. If you had never seen the pictures of Lupin and Tonks, you would have never known there was ever any chemistry with Lupin and Tonks.

"_Man, we sure have our work cut out for us," _thought Harry. _"Then again, maybe they're just really good actors. Like Horacio Ramirez, who played Gordo. Damn, that was good show."_

A burning aroma filled the air.

"Oh no..." Mrs. Weasley sighed. "I should have never let them cook, never in a million years..."

"You let the twins cook?!" Ron asked. "Are you crazy?"

"Oh dear, I must be..." Mrs. Weasley said, ignoring Ron's anger. She turned around sharply. "Ronald! That is a very rude thing to say! These children sure have caused stress over the years..." She disappeared into the kitchen. The only thing heard from Mrs. Weasley was "Fred! Carry it Fred, it's only a bucket of water!" or "George! Don't use magic to send knives through the air!"

"Why don't you boys go help out?" Lupin asked kindly.

"_He wants to be alone with her!" _Harry thought. _"That's the first step! Maybe he's going to admit something to her, or he at least likes her still! She looks happy...maybe she's pleased he wants to be alone with her! Or...they want to get rid of us."_

"No way. Mum's in a 'mood.' I'm not dumb enough to bug her when she's in a 'mood'," Ron said.

Harry laughed with Lupin and Tonks, not bothering to point out to Ron that he _did _bother his mum. Ron was a great friend, but Harry had to admit that he could be slow at times.

"Come sit down," Tonks said, motioning to the blank spot on the sofa next to her.

"_Oh no...she doesn't want to be alone with him! What if she breaks his heart? What if...?" _Harry's thoughts were interrupted by Ron elbowing him.

"Ow," Harry muttered under his breath.

"Quit standing there like a doofus, sit down," Ron muttered back.

"I was thinking, something new to you," Harry muttered but stopped when he saw the puzzled looks on Tonks' and Lupin's faces.

They sat down and Hermione walked into the room.

"Where have you been?" Ron asked sharply.

"The bathroom; am I not allowed to go there?" Hermione replied sarcastically. "So...what are we talking about?" she asked.

"Remus and I were just discussing a new soap opera we saw. We needed to travel by muggle plane, because it was a muggle zone, and we couldn't use Floo Powder or brooms," Tonks said.

"Where did you go?" Hermione asked

"Why'd you see a soap opera?" Ron asked.

"What soap opera was it?" Harry asked.

The two adults laughed. "Sorry Hermione, but it's private ministry business. Confidential," Lupin explained.

"And Ron, apparently they show muggle movies on airplanes. But I guess they didn't have a movie, so they showed this soap opera." Tonks told Ron.

"What was the name of the soap opera?" Harry repeated.

"_El Gordo," _the two said simultaneously. "It was actually pretty good," said Lupin. Tonks nodded.

Harry looked shocked, Hermione looked confused and Ron just sat on the couch laughing. Mrs. Weasley poked her head through the doorway and announced that it was time for dinner.

The meal went fairly well, without extreme pranks from the twins, other than the glasses. When they were empty, the bottom glowed red, and they screamed, "OUT OF DRINK! GLASS EMPTY!"

The twins were talking, Molly, Lupin, and Tonks were talking, and Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were talking. Harry was trying to watch Lupin and Tonks without starring.

Tonks' hair was long and blonde today. She tended to laugh a lot when Lupin was talking, and she flipped her hair more than a few times. Lupin blushed slightly when she passed him the bowl of mashed potatoes.

"_They like each other! She's flipping her hair! She's giggling! He's blushing! All the signs are there! _Harry smiled into his turkey.

As soon as the meal was over, Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked upstairs.

"What is going on?" Hermione asked. "Harry, you were looking at Lupin and Tonks during the whole meal and smiling at your turkey. You guys just seem so...out of it."

Ron reached into the drawer and pulled out the picture of Lupin and Tonks! "Look!" he said.

"Oh my...this is wonderful!" Hermione exclaimed. "Wonderful! I knew something was going on with them! Did you see her giggle and flip her hair? Did you see him blush? They were leaning into each other when they were talking; that's a definite body language clue! Oh how wonderful, he's so smart and grounded, she's free-wheeling and happy! Oh they are so perfect!"

"I guess you've figured out the plan," Harry said, laughing.

"Of course! How wonderful! Oh this is just too perfect!" Hermione raved.

She placed the picture back in the drawer. "Hello, the future Mrs. Nymphadora Tonks-Lupin," she said softly.

----

How was it? That chapter was fun to write with the _El Gordo _thing. That was extremely random, and I think it just added awesomely to the story :-)

I'm too lazy to write a review song today so write and extra cool review and let my writing and your reviewing inspire you to make a song of your own :-) Or at least to review...


	4. Peppermint and Coffee

**Authors Note: **Keep on reviewing and I'll keep on writing!

**Knock, knock **Who's there? **I don't own **I don't own who? **I don't own anything!**

**I love knock-knock jokes :-)**

**Shoutouts**

**starnat- **Soap operas are awesome! And ONE TREE HILL IS NOT A SOAP OPERA! 

**eliza29-**Aw thank you! I'm writing, review please!

**ilovetom88- **Tom Felton looks like Aaron Carter in the PoA movie. I thought that maybe your love was Tom Welling or some random hot guy I don't know. I love random hot guys. I still always think your sn is I love to m when I see it.

**Tonks42- **Thank you!!! I'm updating!

**Hannah-**I love you guys! ;-)

**Chapter 4- Coffee and Peppermint**

----

Harry woke up and saw Hermione slam a piece of parchment on his bedside table. He saw a blurry version of her. Putting on his glasses, he stood up.

"What's that?" he asked yawning.

"Class lists," Hermione said happily. "We get to go Diagon Alley and get our books today."

"Great, I need new quills," Ron said, awakening.

"I need new robes. The sleeves of my old ones go up between my wrist and elbow," Harry said.

"You _always _seem to need robes Harry. Buy them bigger!" Hermione said, folding her arms across her chest.

Harry shrugged nonchalantly.

"You're missing the point!" Hermione said.

"Should we guess it? I love guessing games!" Ron said.

"C'mon, Hermione, it's early. Give us a break," Harry said.

"Actually, it's NOT early. It's 11:18," Hermione pointed out. "Anyway, Mrs. Weasley is taking us to Diagon Alley. So that means..."

"They'll be alone!" Harry said excitedly.

"_This is great!" _Harry thought. _"They can be alone together! Of course, we won't know what they will be doing. But alone time can really make you figure out if you like them or not. What if we..." _Harry's inner ramblings were interrupted by Hermione snapping her fingers in his face.

"Harry! Earth to Harry! Go get dressed!" Hermione snapped.

"Well we have to wait until you leave don't we?" asked Ron, tapping his foot. With his arms folded over his just.

"Oh...right," Hermione said, looking at Ron and slightly blushing.

As soon as the two got dressed, they heard a knock on the door. "Come in," they said simultaneously.

"Ready to go to Diagon Alley?" asked Tonks, poking her (currently curly brown) head in the doorway.

"Are you coming too?" asked Harry.

"_Oh no...she doesn't want to be with him? What if she doesn't like him the way he does? What he gets depressed? And then what if she's the only one who can repair his fragile soul? And then..." _Ron looked at Harry strangely.

"Are you right Harry?" Tonks asked, looking worried.

"What? Oh, yeah, fine," He said

"Are you having...visions?" Tonks asked.

"No! Of course I'm not, I'm just thinking," Harry said.

"Harry, if you ever have any strange vision or ever need to talk, the Order is always here for you," Tonks said.

Harry laughed inside his head. _"They think I'm thinking homicidal/suicidal thoughts! They think I'm crazy! If only they knew I was thinking of how Jose and Elena got Gordo and Maria together on El Gordo! And then...using the same techniques on Tonks and Lupin."_

"Come on, let's go," Tonks said. The three of them walked downstairs into the living room. Mrs. Weasley, Hermione, Ginny, and Lupin were standing by the fireplace.

"Why don't you go first, Mrs. Weasley? Then, Ginny and I will go, and then Harry and Ron, and you two can bring up the rear," Hermione said, pointing to Tonks and Lupin.

Hermione caught Harry's eye and smiled. Both of them had noticed a small smile on Tonks and Lupin's faces.

"Sounds good," Mrs. Weasley said. "Diagon Alley!" and with a puff of green smoke, she was gone.

Hermione and Ginny went, then Harry and Ron. Soon, they were all in Diagon Alley.

"I need robes!" Harry said.

"I want to get my textbooks!" Hermione said.

"Me too!" added Ginny.

"I want to check out Fred and George's joke shop!" said Ron.

"So do I!" Tonks said.

"All right, all right! Tonks and Ron can go visit the joke shop. Hermione, Ginny and I will get everyone's textbooks. Harry and Remus can get robes. We'll meet at the ice cream parlor at two-thirty," Mrs. Weasley said and everyone broke off into their groups.

---Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions---

"I need some black robes for school and...dress robes?" Harry stopped. "What do we need dress robes for? We aren't having another Yule Ball because we aren't having another Triwizard tournament!"

Lupin smiled. "Every year there's a small ball for the 6th and 7th years. The Yule ball was big and fancy; the Returning Ball is small and casual."

"How come none of the younger students never know?" Harry asked.

"It's like how muggles can't see Hogwarts. To you, the Great Hall just looks empty," Lupin explained.

Harry bought three pairs of new black robes and a pair of green robes like the ones from 4th year. Lupin bought a pair of shabby second-hand robes.

The two walked out of the store. Harry felt guilty that he could buy new robes, but Lupin's were so shabby.

"Be right back," he said disappearing into the store. He bought Lupin a very nice pair of wine red robes. At first, he tore off a piece of parchment and wrote, _Harry, _but then crumpled it up. He got another piece and wrote something else.

---Weasley's Wizard Wheezes---

"Mmm, this is good. Try a piece," Tonks said, handing a small piece of chocolate to Ron.

"Yum." He was expecting the words to come out talking, but he was singing. "Hey! What's going on?" he sang.

Tonks, Fred, and George were laughing. "Singing Sweets!" George said. "Make you sing, not talk! A box for 7 sickles!"

"How long does it last?" asked Ron, still singing.

"Depends on how good you are. In your case, you probably won't be singing much longer. You're terribly off-key," Fred explained.

Tonks and Ron stayed in the shop longer, playing pranks on each other. They came out with their money bags lighter, with a big bag of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

"We still have a lot of time to kill," Tonks said, looking at her watch. "Lets get some food. I'm starving."

They walked over to Harold's Hot Dogs and each ordered a hot dog. Ron decided to use this time with Tonks to help get them back together.

"Can I ask you a question?" Ron asked.

"You just did. But sure, you can ask me another," Tonks said laughing.

"How do you think is the best way to get a girl to like you?" he asked. Harry said to work slowly and start talking generally. This was general, even if he did want to know the answer.

"I was wondering if you guys were going to ask me for girl advice. I say be a gentleman. Hold doors, carry her books, whatever. Just be nice. Most girls like class," she explained. Now I get to ask you. How do you get a guy to like you?"

"_Oh my God!" _Ron thought._ "She's trying to Lupin to like her! I want to scream HE DOES!!!! But...I don't think so. Let's see. What would Lupin like?"_

"I think you should have a sense of humor and be able to laugh at yourself. Most guys like a funny girl," Ron said.

She nodded and looked at her watch. "We'd better go," she said. Ron and Tonks arrived at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor at the same time as the others. Ron reached the door first and opened it. He let Hermione in, and then closed it in front of Ginny.

They ordered ice cream and talked about their time. Harry notices Tonks and Lupin sitting next to each other. Mrs. Weasley was giving Harry and Ron their textbooks. Harry told Ron about the robes, and Ron told Harry about the advice. The two were looking incredibly happy, especially when Tonks took a flirty bite of Lupin's coffee ice cream

"Yuck," she said, making a face. "Coffee and peppermint don't go together."

Harry hoped it wasn't a sign.

They finished their ice cream and took Floo Powder back to Grimmauld place. Harry ran upstairs and quietly tiptoed into Lupin's room. He took out the red robes and placed them on Lupin's bed. He then took out the piece of parchment, placing it carefully on the robes. When Lupin walked into the room, he saw

_Dear Remus,_

_I thought you could use a nice pair of robes. And I thought you would really like the wine color. But please, let's keep the robes a secret. Don't mention them out loud, or thank me._

_Love, Tonks._

----

How was it? OK I have three serious questions:

**Is anybody OOC?**

**What does AU mean?**

**What the hell is this C2 thing?**

Please leave a nice review and answer my questions. Thank you, come again.


	5. Look, a distraction!

**Author's Note: **Thank you my loverly-full reviewers!

I had some Writer's block and I felt stupid and I made myself angry and probably my reviewers too, but then my loverly-full friend Victoria helped me out and I'm all better.

Therefore, I shall dedicate this chapter to you, Vic :-)

Let us all take a moment to point and laugh at the hypocrite Emily. "Stoopid! You can't rite or spell!" Apparently, Emily, neither can you. In case you have not noticed, people like this. I am no J.K. Rowling, but I can spell stupid and write. Go ahead, everyone, point and laugh.

**Chapter 5-Look, a distraction!**

----

_-Lupin's POV-_

As soon as I got home from Diagon Alley, I brewed myself a nice cup of coffee. Shopping, even with 16-year-olds (and one 15-year-old) can be very exhilarating, even when shopping for textbooks. Even Hermione gets over-excited when holding _Advanced Transfiguration. _Nymphadora (she hates when I call her that, but it sounds more sophisticated than Tonks, in my opinion) even got a little hyperactive after that peppermint ice cream.

After Harry had run upstairs quickly, I offered Molly a cup of coffee too. She gladly accepted. Molly gets awfully stressed out, especially with the twins. I guess she's a little less stressed; they seem to be making a successful life. Even if it isn't exactly what Molly and Arthur had in mind.

When I asked Ron why Harry had run upstairs so quickly, he stuttered and said "Duty calls." As in, he had to go to the bathroom. Why he went upstairs instead of in the room downstairs, I have no idea.

Hermione sat on the couch, reading _The Standard Book of Spells: Grade 6. _Ron was setting up a game of Exploding Snap, and Ginny was lying on the ground reading _The Quibbler._ Harry came downstairs as Ginny sat up and tossed her hair nonchalantly. A slight blush crept across Harry's face.

"Come on, Harry, let's play exploding snap," Ron said, motioning for him to sit down.

I left the room at this. Exploding Snap games at Grimmauld Place could get pretty intense. ("You cheated!" "Did not!" "Did too!" "Stop acting like three year olds!" "Look, a distraction!" "Where?" "There!" "Hey that time you cheated!" "Well you deserved it, for falling for that!") I did not want to be in the midst of that.

I walked into my room to put my new old robes away, and was astounded to find a large package sitting on my royal blue duvet cover. I undid the simple wax string to reveal a very nice pair of wine red robes. They looked brand new, and were as soft as a baby's bottom. I picked them and held them to my face and thought, "Who would spend so much money on robes? I do hope it wasn't Harry, I've told him time after time not to spend so much money on me."

And then I saw the note.

---_Normal POV---_

Harry walked into Lupin's room.

"Dinner," he announced. "Holy cow!" Where'd you get those!" he asked with a humongous grin.

"They...they were my Dad's old robes," Lupin lied. He hoped his nostrils weren't flaring out like they always did when he lied. It was Tonks who told him about this nostril flaring, but maybe Harry hasn't noticed yet.

"They sure are nice," Harry said, his grin stretching ear to ear. "You should wear them more often," he said. He looked like he could barely control his excitement.

"I...think I'm going to take them off for dinner. Don't want to spill anything on them," Lupin said. He just didn't want Tonks to see him in them.

"Good point," Harry said. "But you can spill wine on them though, because it'll just blend right in,"

Lupin smiled and ruffled Harry's hair. "Come on, kid," he said laughing. "I'm hungry."

---_Tonks' POV_---

Going to Diagon Alley was extremely fun. I hadn't been there since I was seventeen, and things have changed quite a bit. Fred and George's joke shop is amazing. They are going to run Zonko's out of business. The Singing Sweets were amazing; I bought a bunch. Tonight I'm going to sneak one in Ron's mashed potatoes.

Lupin looked at me strangely at dinner. For a second, he almost started to mouth the word "Thanks," but he stopped. I thought he almost liked me, but I laughed at myself for thinking such a stupid thought. He hadn't liked me since he was 18. After all, he broke up with me. I guess all the teasing from James and Sirius about dating a girl three years younger than you finally got to his head.

I noticed Ron digging into his mashed potatoes. I decided to act, or else I'd never get my chance.

"Oh my God!" I exclaimed. "A distraction!" I pointed my index finger into the living room where Hermione's books, Ginny's Quibbler, and Ron and Harry's Exploding Snap were lying.

"Huh?" Ron mumbled with a mouthful of mashed potatoes. Just as I expected, I stuffed a sweet in his pile of potatoes. Harry saw me and smiled; I winked at him.

Ron turned around, looking sour. "I am NOT going to fall for that again!" he said determinedly.

"That's what you said when you were playing Exploding Snap," Ginny pointed out. "But you just did."

Everyone laughed, Harry especially. Ron just looked bitter and ate another bite of mashed potatoes. "Well, I was kidding that time. I'm really not going to fall for it again," he sang. "Tonks..." he began. I smiled.

Hermione laughed. "Did you make those, Tonks? They're brilliant!"

"I bought them," I told her, "from Fred and George's shop. They have and incredible store."

She nodded. "They really are smart. These must have taken a great deal of magic. I suppose their magic really is helpful; they seem to making a great living."

Molly nodded. "At first, I didn't exactly approve of a joke shop. But they absolutely love it. They are making a great deal of money, and expressing their creativity. I'm proud of them," she said, clearing away everyone's finished plates.

I took a glance at Lupin and he looked at me and smiled. My heart gave a flutter. _"Oh no_..." I thought_. "Not again..."_

_---Normal POV---_

Harry, Ron, and Hermione trudged upstairs, with Ginny following. As soon as they reached the room Ginny and Hermione shared, Ginny blurted out, "What is going on? Why do you guys keep sneaking glances at Lupin and Tonks?"

The trio exchanged glances. "Look..." Harry said, pulling out the picture of Lupin and Tonks. Ginny's face lit up.

"Oh my God!" she said. "How cute! We totally have to get them back together! Aw, they're so adorable together! That reminds me of a romance novel I read! The two people were totally in love, and everyone but them could see it! This is so cute!"

"Yep," Hermione agreed. "How did the two people get together in the book?"

"Well, the ending kind of sucked," Ginny explained. "The boy just goes up to her and says 'I love you,' and she's all 'I love you too!' So they grow up and live happily ever after."

"That's not very helpful," Ron shot at her.

"I know it's not," Ginny shot back. She turned to Harry and Hermione. "Romance novels are entertaining, but not a very reliable source for life."

"Yeah," Harry agreed. He took a glance at the clock. "It's kind of late. Let's get to bed. Maybe we can think of some good ideas in the morning.

Ron and Harry said goodnight to the girls and walked into their shared room. "Do you think we can really get them back together?" Ron asked, sliding under the covers. "I hope so," Harry answered. "I sure hope so."

---The Next Day---

Harry awoke peacefully the next morning. Okay, it wasn't peacefully at all-Ginny was banging pots in his face.

"Harry, do you always sleep this much?" she asked.

He shrugged. "I'm making up for all the hours of sleep I lost doing homework in the middle of the night at the Dursley's," he replied.

Ginny laughed. "Come on, breakfast."

They walked downstairs and found everyone else sitting at the table. Lupin was reading a newspaper and drinking coffee, Tonks was showing Ron and Hermione how many different ear styles she could do, and Mrs. Weasley was serving bacon and toast.

Harry and Ginny sat down and joined Tonks, Ron, and Lupin. "Look at his one, it's my favorite," she said. She closed her eyes and looked like she was concentrating very hard for a second. She opened her eyes, and her regular ears were transformed into long, pointy ears.

"Elf!" Ron yelled.

"Yep. Those are my favorite," she said.

--

After dinner, Ron started going upstairs. "Harry, come help me pack," he said. He shook his head very slightly left, and then right.

"Oh yeah...I have to pack to," Ginny said. "Help me Hermione."

They rushed upstairs into Ginny and Hermione's room. "What is it, Ron?" asked Hermione.

"What are we going to do when we go to Hogwarts? It's August 27th!" Ron pointed out.

"I hadn't thought of that," Hermione admitted. She sat on the bed and thought hard. The others followed suit.

"I know!" Ginny said suddenly, snapping her fingers. The others jumped in surprise. "I don't know if it will work but..."

"But what?" Harry asked.

"Ron, you'll need to get Hermes from Percy. Hermione, do you know a spell to imitate handwriting?" she asked, pacing.

"Why Hermes? Why not Hedwig or Pig?" Ron asked.

"I know a spell, but I can't do magic out of school!" Hermione said.

"What should I do?" Harry asked.

"Hold on, one at a time," Ginny explained. "We need Hermes because Tonks and Lupin know what Pig and Hedwig look like. Hermione, we only have three days; you won't get expelled for using a minor spell three days before school. Besides, even if you get a warning, you can do magic next year. Harry, you can come with me." Ginny's cheeks flushed a slight pink.

"What's your plan?" Harry asked her.

"We need to get Lupin and Tonks at Hogwarts, right?" she asked.

"Right," the trio answered.

"And there's an empty teacher position, right?"

"Right..."

"So we forge a note from Dumbledore, get the two to teach at Hogwarts, and they realize their love for each other and grow up and live happily ever after," she explained, and the three smiled. "Okay, we have to help them realize their true love, but it'll work."

"So I write a note to Percy asking to borrow Hermes?" Ron asked.

"Right," Ginny said. "Harry and I will write the note. Hermione can make it look like Dumbledore's writing."

The four set to work on their jobs. Ron wrote:

_Perce,_

_Hey, can I borrow Hermes? I need him for a long journey that Pig can't handle. Just send him back and keep Pig. I'll send Hermes back when I'm done, and you can send Pig back._

_Thanks,_

_Ron._

"That's good Ron. But he's your brother; shouldn't you put Love, Ron somewhere in there?"

"Just because he's my brother doesn't mean I'm gonna put 'Love'" Ron replied. "He's still an ignorant prat."

Harry and Ginny were hard at work writing the note. Harry had never sat so close to Ginny in his life. He noticed her hair smelled fruity, and he kicked himself for noticing. Those weren't the types of things he noticed about Hermione.

"Hey, Gin," he said. "This is gonna work, right?"

"It better," she said, looking him straight in the eye. "It's our only hope."

----

Wheeee! All finished! That was actually a fun chapter to write, once I got help from Vic. I'm very sorry, but I'm too lazy to do shoutouts. Leave an ultra cool review and I will give you an ultra cool shoutout!


	6. An Impromtu Teacher Position

Yay! Chapter 6! I hope y'all had a totally awesome (insert holiday choice here)! I got awesome Christmas presents, if I do say so myself. A GUITAR!!!! YES!!! The Green Day CD, the School of Rock soundtrack, Spiderman 2 and Dodgeball on DVD, and MORE!! Muahahahaha.

**Unforgettable: **Thanks :-)

**Tonks42: **Thanks, I like that chapter too! I accidentally uploaded before I saved the spell check, that's why there were errors. I went back and replaced it with the spell-checked one, so I think it's all better.

**thehpgang: **Thank you very much! It makes me happy that people say this is the best, because it's the first story I've ever written. I feel special.

**A Cute But Psycho Bunny: **Yes, there's a little Romione and Harrinny, but not over-whelming amounts. Subtle but not-subtle. Yay well I'm glad you like my stories because they're the only ones I've ever written! Yay!

**MERRY (from Chapter 4): **Wow, now that you mention it...Charlie probably would be a good match. I never thought of him. I wanted to write a matchmaker-type story, and the first single people of different genders above the age of 18 I thought of were Lupin and Tonks. I'm glad you like though.

**Jessa L'Rynn: **I'm glad her age is never is never mentioned, but I always pictured her being young. Doesn't it say she was the youngest auror though?

**Chapter 6: **An Impromptu Teacher Position

**---**

Ron attached the letter to Percy on Pig's leg, and sent him off.

"Go to Percy, Pig. He's on some business trip. Go fast. And don't get lost again, you little good for nothing midget," he said, pushing the owl out the window.

"Ron, he's your only owl. Don't push him like that!" Hermione said, folding her arms over her chest.

"Yes. He's my owl. I'll treat the little midget the way I want to," Ron replied back.

"He's not a midget, Ron! He's a naturally small owl! His size is natural for an owl his type!" she shot back.

"He's tiny, so he's a midget! Come on, we all know Pig isn't the brightest bulb!" he said.

"So he isn't a certified genius, big deal! Neither are _you!"_

"Ha ha. Funny. What's next, SPIO? Society for the Protection of Ignorant Owls?"

"Not funny Ron! House elves are worked very hard; I'd like to see you do all that work!" she replied back with a smug look.

Ron opened his mouth to say something back, but Harry threw his arms between the two. "Guys, stop!" he said. "If we're gonna make this work, we can't have you two arguing all the time! Ron, stop bullying your owl. Hermione, if Ron wants to push his owl, let him. It's not your fault if he dies." The two fell silent.

"Thank you, Harry,"Ginny said. "Exactly what we need. We aren't going to be able to get them together if all you do is argue."

"Sure, sure, side with Harry," Ron mumbled.

"Why don't you guys give me the letter you wrote so I can change the handwriting?" Hermione said. She reached into her school bag that was lying next to her and felt around for a while. A minute later, she pulled out her wand and a piece of parchment.

"Aha. Here it is. It's a letter from Dumbledore explaining about how the O.W.L.s were graded. It's in his handwriting, even though I'm sure it was magically photocopied. I'm a little nervous about doing magic out of school though," she explained.

"Hermione, there's only a few days until school starts. You might get a warning, but next summer you can do magic anyway. So if you do get a warning, as long you don't do any magic for about two days, you'll be clear," Harry explained for the millionth time.

"Yes but...I'm _violating_ school rules! Not only school rules, but official Ministry rules! It just feels so...._wrong_," she said.

"You've violated school rules loads of times," Harry said. "Going into the third floor corridor in first year. The whole time-turner thing in third year. And plenty of other times I don't feel like mentioning," Harry said.

"Yes, but those helped people," Hermione protested.

"So will this," Ginny said. "It helps Lupin and Tonks love each other so they don't grow up to be old and alone and living with a million ferrets."

"But..." Hermione began.

"Hermione, it's okay. Just translate the handwriting!" Ron said, growing impatient.

"All right, all right," Hermione said, her cheeks blushing and a small, secret smile on her face.

She placed the copy of parchment in Ginny's handwriting on the table, and put Dumbledore's underneath it. "Are you sure you spelled everything correctly?" she asked before performing the spell. "Because if you didn't, they might not believe..."

"Yes, we spelled everything right. Quit stalling and do the spell," Ginny said smiling.

"All right, but If I get expelled, it'll be your fault," Hermione said. _Scrittura Traduce!" _she said. The four watched as the paper instantly morphed from Ginny's girly handwriting to Dumbledore's unique handwriting. Hermione dropped her wand as if it was red hot.

"Oh no..." she said.

"It's okay Hermione, I swear," Harry said. He turned to Ginny. "Now what should we do.

"Tell Hermes to fly around and then go find Lupin," she said. He'll tell Tonks." She told Hermes what to do, and he took off.

---

Remus awoke the next morning and walked downstairs. To his surprise, everyone was already at the table eating breakfast. Tonks was in the middle of telling a joke.

"And then the penguin said to the Eskimo...no, it's an igloo!" she said and the entire table erupted with laughter. Oh you're finally awake, Remus! Come on, join us!" she said, motioning for him to come over.

He sat down and rubbed his eyes. "Wh...Why didn't anyone wake me?" he asked.

"You've woken up so early every day; we thought you could use a nice rest," Mrs. Weasley explained. "By the way, there's an owl waiting for you on the windowsill. The owl kind of looks like H..."

"arry's been entertaining it," Ron interjected. "Yeah, haven't you kept if from biting Lupin's finger off all morning, Harry?"

"Yeah, I have," he said, even though he hadn't touched Hermes in his life. "Why don't you go to your room and open the letter; we'll do the dishes he said."

Remus walked up to his room and tore open the piece of parchment.

_Dear Mr. Remus Lupin and Ms. Nymphadora Tonks,_

_I hope your summer is going extremely well. I am sorry to be bothering you at such an early hour, but I recently received a message saying that our newest Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher has recently fallen out of a third-story window and will be unable to teach this year. It is extremely hard to get teachers within a few days notice. AS a favor, would the two of you be able to be Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers for one year at Hogwarts. Remus has been a teacher and Nymphadora would be an excellent teacher's aide, and could provide special assistance when Remus needs it most. If the two of you are interested, please do not reply, just ride the Hogwarts Express. If you are unavailable, please reply saying so, and I thank you for your time._

_Sincerely,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

"What do you think? Do you want to teach?" Remus asked Tonks after sharing the letter with her.

"Yes! It looks fun!" she said. "I'm gonna let them call me Tonks, not Professor Tonks, because that sounds too stuck up! It'll be just like our old Hogwarts days, huh Remus?"

"Yeah. Except there's a lot of hard work involved. Grading homework assignments, test grading..."

"But I'm not the one doing all the hard work. I'm just the teacher's aide. _You _get to do the hard work."

"Don't worry, I'll find a way for you to do hard work."

She made a sour face. "Even if we do hard work, it'll still be fun won't it? Just like old times!"

"Yep," Remus smiled. "Just like old times." He mentally added, _without being teased by my friends about dating a girl 3 three years younger than you._

Sorry, that one was somewhat short, but I wanted the next one to be where they actually go to Hogwarts! The more you review, the sooner the next chapter!

_**R**_

_**E**_

_**V**_

_**I**_

_**E**_

_**W**_


	7. Potions, Spells, and Physical Injury

All right, another chapter coming up! This is where things should start to get interesting. I am very sorry about how long it takes me to update. I have a very busy schedule, getting up early for school, school, cheerleading, dinner, homework, shower, and before I know it, bed. I really only get time to write on the weekend. But, it is a three-day weekend 

**Shoutouts**

**MERRY: **Thanks, I'm glad you like it. I didn't have any more Tonks stories in mind, but who knows what I'll come up with.

**Monai**: I'm glad you like it.

**brokentoy19: **Haha, at first when I wrote that chapter, I forgot about Dumbledore, and then I was like...crap. hehe, but this chapter will have Dumbledore.

**mrscribble: **Never fear, here's another chapter! I'll try to hurry up as fast as I can.

**Jessa L'Rynn: **Oh, okay that explains some stuff. Cool. Glad you think its fun.

**eliza29**: Aw, thank you I'm so glad you like it. Honestly, I never thought of this paring-I just wanted to write a matchmaker type story. I'm updating! I'll try to read one of your stories, but if I can't please don't hurt me, 'kay?

**A Cute but Psycho Bunny: **Ooh, things will get much more interesting in this chapter. Muahaha I feel evil.

**Starnat: **Hehe, as said previously, things are just staring to get good!

**MrsAliciaWeasley (from ch 5): **Glad you think its sweet. Hmm, I don't know about other pairings...I'll just go with _le flow_.

**Rex: **I swear, some people actually write pairings like that! I was bored and randomly clicking on romances between 2 characters, and some super weird things came up!

Whew! Those were a lot! Keep reviewing if you want to see your name in lights!

**Chapter 7- **Potions, Spells, and Physical Injury

**---**

"Okay, does everybody have everything? Harry, Ron, do you have your owls? Hermione, is Crookshanks in his cage? Ginny, did you remember all your quills this time? Ron, are you sure you packed enough clean underwear?" Mrs. Weasley was frantic. She was last minute checking everyone at Platform 9 ¾.

"_Muuum...," _Ron groaned. Hermione giggled and blushed, something she didn't do often.

"All right, all right. Everyone good?" she asked, and everyone nodded.

Just then, there was a _pop!, _anda smiling man with gray hairs and shabby robes, and a slightly younger girl with spiky pink hair appeared. They both had two trunks, similar to the ones Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny had.

"What are you guys doing here?" Harry asked, pretending to be surprised. "Why do you have trunks?"

Lupin smiled. "Nymphadora and I have agreed to become the new Defense against the Dark Arts teachers. Dumbledore asked us to arrive on the train. Let's keep this a little secret, shall we?"

Ginny could barely contain her excitement. "Oh wow!" she said. "That is so great!"

Tonks smiled. "I'm really excited! It's almost like re-living my Hogwarts days! I can't wait to see what they've done with the place!"

The train whistle blew, and students started to board. "All right, everyone good bye! Have fun! Don't get into too much trouble! Eat your green vegetables! I love you!" Mrs. Weasley called, giving each of them a hug.

The six of them safely boarded and found a compartment. "Don't worry, we won't sit with you," Tonks said. "We need to speak with the conductor." As soon as they were out of earshot, Hermione stood up and shut the door.

"What are we going to do with the _real_ Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?" she asked, folding he arms over her chest. The other three turned paler.

"Push 'em out of the third-story window?" Ron joked. Harry and Ginny gave a small chuckle, but Hermione was not amused.

"But we don't even know who it is!" Ginny said. "For all we know, it could be Snape or some goblin or something!"

"We could put something in their goblet at the feast," Harry suggested. Hermione scowled. "Or we could brainwash it."

"How would we know who it is?" Hermione asked.

"The only person we don't recognize a teacher, duh," Ron said, rolling his eyes.

Hermione glared at him. "We'll think about that in a minute," Harry said. I've got an idea. Follow me."

He threw on the invisibility cloak and tiptoed down the train. He got to the end, where Tonks and Lupin were sitting with the conductor.

"Spying? Harry, that's kind of lo-" Ginny began, but was cut off by Harry shushing them. "It's only spying if you get caught."

They leaned their ears against the door; they heard an owl flapping its wings.

"Who's that from?" Lupin asked. After a few minutes, Tonks said "Jerry."

Harry's eyes went wide. _A boyfriend? _He mouthed. "Most likely," Hermione whispered. "Great job. First find out if they're single before setting them up."

"Shhh!" Ron said.

"Who's Jerry?" Lupin asked.

"My brother," they heard Tonks answer. "He's on his honeymoon in Puerto Rico. He must've gotten a new owl."

The four smiled. "It's her brother!" Harry whispered.

"We've got ears," Ginny said smiling. Harry blushed.

"Let's go back to our compartment," Hermione suggested, and the four did just that.

"Okay, does anyone have any ideas on what to do with the Defense Against the Dark arts teacher-" Hermione began. Ron, Harry, and Ginny, raised their hands.

"-that doesn't have to do with potions or spells?" she said. Harry and Ginny slowly put their hands down.

"Or any sort of physical injury?"

Ron put his hand down, looking defeated.

"We could torture it with pranks until they are forced to leave," Ginny suggested. "Like Fred and George. You know, give it hell."

"Or like in Mean Girls. Make it gain weight by feeding it those weird Swedish nutrition bars?"

"Harry, it's a professor, not a teenage girl!" Hermione said. Ron asked what Mean Girls was. "It's a muggle movie about this girl who befriends these popular bitches as a joke and then becomes one," Hermione explained. "Waste of time."

"It's not," Harry protested. "It's got Lindsay Lohan. She's hot. And so is the really popular blonde girl."

"Sounds good," Ron smiled.

"All right, all right," Ginny said. She couldn't help feel a little jealous of this Lindsay Lohan.

"We could forge another letter from the Ministry or Dumbledore asking the person to leave," Ron said. "It worked once."

"Ron, we are not doing anything harmful or illegal!"

"Then I've got nothing."

"Look Hermione, I think our best bet is to put a potion in the teacher's drink. I remember reading about a fairly simple one where they will do what you say. You talk to the potion and it-"

"No, no, no!" Hermione said. "I'm not putting a potion in a teacher's drink!"

---Later---

"I cannot believe I'm putting a potion in a teacher's drink! Oh if we get caught, we will be in so much trouble!" Hermione cried.

"Then we won't get caught then, will we?" Harry said. Okay Ginny, what's after a diced carrot?" Harry asked.

"Stir it three times counterclockwise, saying what you want the person to do," Ginny read. "Then a drop of human blood to finish it off." She said, just as Ron shrieked "OW!"

"What?" Hermione asked.

"Paper cut," he said.

"Lemme see," Harry said. He took Ron's finger and held it over the stirred potion. A single drop of red blood oozed out from Ron's finger into the potion. It turned a bright, electric blue.

"It'll be transparent when poured into a drink," Ginny explained.

They entered the kitchen; all the house elves were busy preparing for the Hogwarts feast. Hermione's face gave a look of disgust, but she kept her mouth closed.

Harry found the nearest house elf. "Dumbledore asked us to do him a favor," he explained. "Can you put some of this in the New Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher's drink tonight?"

"Of course, Harry Potter sir!" the house elf shrieked and ran away to alert the other elves.

"That was easy," Ginny said. "Who knew they were so gullible?"

"C'mon, I'm starving! Ron said. The four crept into the Great Hall and sat at the Gryffindor table just as the sorting began.

"Alvarez, Timothy!" McGonagall called.

Timothy Alvarez stood up and put the sorting hat on his head. It was on his head for 2 seconds when the hat screamed "RAVENCLAW!"

The rest of the sorting continued until "Zaggot, Michelle!" was sorted into Gryffindor.

Dumbledore looked at Lupin and Tonks strangely, and smiled. A short, nervous looking woman was sitting next to Dumbledore, twitching. She whispered in Dumbledore's ear. He nodded, and she left, still twitching.

"I have a few exciting announcements," Dumbledore said, smiling. "Our newest Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher has decided she will be unable to teach this year. For the time being, we are currently short of a teacher." Lupin and Tonks looked at each other puzzled. Lupin muttered something to Dumbledore, and he continued smiling.

"It seems there has been a change. I am pleased to announce our newest Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers, Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks!"

The Great Hall erupted with cheer and applause, particularly from Gryffindor. _It worked!_ Ron mouthed to Harry. _Thank you Captain Obvious!_ He mouthed back.

After the applause died down, Dumbledore spoke again. "I am pleased to announce the new Head Boy and Girl, Katie Bell and Stanley Daniels! The Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables cheered loudly, and Dumbledore waited once again.

"I would also like to congratulate our Quidditch captains, Cho Chang, Edward Applebee, Harry Potter, and Draco Malfoy!"

Harry was shocked but pleasantly surprised. Ron patted him on the back. After the wild cheering died down, Dumbledore spoke again.

"Yes, congratulations to all. Let us eat!"

And they did just that.

----

"Take a seat everyone! Quickly!"

Harry, Ron and Hermione quickly found seats near the front of the room. It was their first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, and they were eager. Defense Against the Dark Arts was easily Harry and Ron's favorite subject (without Umbridge, of course). Of course, they also wanted to see Lupin and Tonks.

"Sixth year Defense Against the Dark Arts class, welcome! I understand there have been a few...disturbances with your lessons in the past. But I'm not the one learning, you guys are. I would like for you guys to tell me what you feel prepared with and what you feel you need work on." Lupin said.

Harry raised his hand. Lupin called on him. "I think we're all pretty well prepared with creatures, like boggarts and hinkypunks and stuff," he said.

Lupin smiled. "Do most of you feel the same way?"

There was a murmur of agreements and nodding heads.

"So this year, we won't really do as much creature stuff. What do you guys need to work on?"

Hermione raised her hand. "Curses." She said. "We learned a little with Professor Moody, but only the Unforgivable Curses. There are many more attack and defense spells, right?"

Lupin nodded. "Spells are a very part of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Knowing a good spell can make or break you in a duel. Not that you should ever duel if it's not necessary. Would you all agree that you need some work with spells?"

The class agreed. "Why don't we start with a fairly simple one first," suggested Lupin. "Stupefy. Who can tell me what stupefy does?"

They continued to a have a fun class, and although most of the Gryffindors in the class knew the spell from the DA, they learned it much better.

Five minutes before class is over, Lupin stopped them. "All right everyone, time to clean up!"

Once all of the students' materials and books were put away, Tonks began to speak. "As I'm sure you're all aware of, your supply lists had dress robes on it for the school year. Every year, there is a small Returning Ball for the 6th and 7th years. Picture the Yule Ball from...your fourth year right?...Yeah, picture a smaller, more casual version of that. It's only for 6th and 7th years; younger students are not allowed." She noticed a small look of disappointment on Harry's face.

"Please keep in mind the dress is casual to semi-formal. Wear dress robes, but do not take ages to make sure you look good. If you wish to bring a date you may, but it is not a requirement." His eyes drifted over to Tonks, and he blushed a little.

"And the dress code applies!" Tonks added. "No like, 3 inch skirts or whatever!"

It was time to go to their next class. As Harry walked to Charms, he had one thought: It was going to be interesting year.

---

So, how was it? Is it starting to get interesting? Leave me a review; I love you all!

Yeah, Mean Girls is a good movie. And nearly every teenage boy I know thinks Lindsay Lohan is hot. Hmm, Harry has a thing for redheads, doesn't he ;-)

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	8. Skiving Snackbox?

**Author's notes: **Hey everybody! I am so sorry I have not written in a while. I think this fic takes me the longest to write a chapter. Without further ado, here's chapter eight!

Thanks to **A Cute but Psycho Bunny, MrsAliciaWeasly, Tonks42, thehpgang, starnat, mrscribble, brokentoy19, MERRY, TartanLioness, TheFictionSpider, Ced14, **and** Monai! **You people rock my world!

**Disclaimer: **If I owned this, I'd be rolling in the Benjamins right now. Well guess what...I don't own it.

**Chapter 8-**

"So you add the flobberworm blood, and then stir three time clockwise-"

"No Harry, _counterclockwise_. Otherwise, the potion will have a reverse effect."

"Who even knew flobberworms had blood anyway? They're just fat lards,"

"Ron!"

"Whatever. So then what to you do after the flobberworm?"

"You put your right foot in, then you put your right foot out, then you put your right foot in and you shake it all ab-"

"Harry!" Hermione said laughing. Harry and Ron never got too much done for homework, but they did seem to make it more fun.

"What? I don't get it," Ron said. Harry and Hermione laughed.

"We have Potions in ten minutes," Hermione said, glancing at her watch after she and Harry had finished laughing.

Ron made a face. "Do we have to go? Hey, I think I've got some skiving snack boxes from Fred and George."

"Ron, you can't skive off Potions if you want to be an Auror. If you fail Potions, they won't hire you," Hermione pointed out.

"Skiving off one class doesn't mean I'm gonna fail," Ron shot back, but he stopped digging through his school bag for the snack boxes.

"You wanna get to Potions now, so Snape can't say we're late?" Harry asked.

"Good idea," Hermione said, grabbing her school bag.

They assembled their books and stepped out of the Gryffindor Common Room. Walking to Potions, Ron began to talk to Harry.

"Hey, when are you going to have try-outs?" he asked.

"Try-outs?" Harry asked, but quickly remembered. "Oh right. Quidditch! Well, we have a Seeker, a Chaser, and a Keeper, so-"

"No we don't."

Harry turned to look at Ron. "What? You're going to be Keeper, right?"

"I don't think I should."

"Why not?"

"Uh, because I stunk more than Brie Cheese on a stick in the middle of October."

"Ron! You did not stink!" Hermione said.

"Yeah, plus, Fred and George won't be there this year to make fun of you." Harry pointed out.

"All right, but if I totally stink again you have to find a new Keeper," Ron said, giving in.

"Fine, but we won't need one," Harry said. "So we have you, me, and Katie. We still need two more Beaters and two Chasers."

"I think Ginny is going to try out for Chaser," Ron stated.

Harry smiled. "That's good, she's pretty decent. What about those two blokes we used at the end of last year, when Umbridge banned Fred, George, and me?"

"Kirke and Sloper?" Ron asked. Harry nodded. "I suppose they'll do. They weren't brilliant, but compared to the rest of the idiots that showed up..." As Ron finished talking, they entered their Potions class. The three took their seats in the back.

"Hello, hello class," Snape said, walking into the class. He seemed a bit disappointed that he couldn't yell at Harry, Ron, and Hermione for being late.

"Welcome class. Today we will be working on a new, complex potion. If you do not follow my exact directions, your potion will come out deadly. And that would be most tragic." He looked at Harry with a sneer. "We will be working on the B-" Snape was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Enter," Snape commanded.

The door creaked open with every student's eye focusing on the door. Colin Creevy stepped inside, shaking madly.

"What do you want, Creevy?" Snape hissed. Malfoy nudged Crabbe and pointed at Colin. "What a little baby," he muttered with a smirk.

"It's a n-n-note, s-s-sir," Colin's knees were shaking and he was stuttering from Professor Dumbledore."

Snape took the note. "Thank you Colin, now be gone from my classroom."

"O-okay," Colin said. He quickly went out of the door.

Snape looked over the note for a few minutes. "Potter," he hissed, spitting out the name like it was a gnat in his mouth. "You are wanted in the Headmaster's office."

"Okay," Harry said, putting his books, quills, and parchment away.

"You will be marked as absent from class, and you are responsible for making up any work."

"Okay." Harry repeated.

"I suggest you leave now, so you can stop delaying my class from learning."

"Okay," Harry said again, and walked out of the dungeon.

He wondered what Dumbledore wanted to see him for. Was there another prophecy? Harry hoped not. His stomach clenched just thinking about the first one. Was it about Sirius? Maybe he wasn't dead. Maybe there was some way to talk to him.

He turned a corner, and continued pondering. Was Harry in trouble? What did he do? He thought hard. In potions, he 'accidentally on purpose' used accio to hit Malfoy on the head with the goat livers they were using, but he hadn't gotten in too much trouble. Some points taken off and a detention. However, he didn't think it was big enough to be called to Dumbledore's office.

What if Umbridge's ban was permanent? What if he wasn't allowed to ever play Quidditch again? His stomach turned into a knot. Finally, he reached Dumbledore's office.

"Uhhh," Harry said, realizing he didn't know the password. "Chocolate frog? Sugar quill?" he tried. The gargoyles didn't budge. "Cockroach cluster? Blood lollipop?"

Harry was getting frustrated. "Lemon drop!" The gargoyles stayed shut. "Skiving snackbox?" he asked desperately. To his surprise, the gargoyles swung open.

He stepped into Dumbledore's office, looking around. It looked fairly similar to the end of fifth year.

"Hello, Harry," Dumbledore's voice said from behind him. Harry spun around. "Have a seat," Dumbledore motioned for him to sit down on the chair he made appear.

Harry sat down. Dumbledore sat on his chair. "You are probably wondering why I called you in here, Harry," Dumbledore said.

"Harry nodded. The ban from Umbridge last year it's not-" he began, but was interrupted by Dumbledore's faint laughter.

"No Harry, I assure you, it is not permanent." He said. Harry opened his mouth again. "And you are not in trouble," Dumbledore said. Harry closed his mouth.

"No Harry, I was just wondering," Dumbledore said. "Why did you attempt to make Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks as teachers?"

"What?" Harry said, shocked.

"Well, you sent a letter asking them to be teachers," Dumbledore said with a smile. "Why?"

Harry was shocked. "H-how did you know?"

"Ah, I have my ways Mr. Potter," Dumbledore said. "I know it wasn't me who sent them a letter. But would you care to tell me why?"

"Well, uh, L-Professor Lupin always looked lonely over the summer," Harry explained. "And, Professor Lupin and Tonks used to date. So we decided to match them together, so they wouldn't be as lonely any more."

"Well, Harry, that is a splendid idea, and very thoughtful, but, next time, please leave the roles of assigning teachers to the faculty."

"Okay," Harry said, relieved.

"But, I would also like to thank you. When Ms. Meralda, the original teacher, had decided not to teach, Remus and Nymphadora were right there." Harry smiled. You have good timing, Mr. Potter. It is time for your next class."

Harry walked to his next class, grinning. So Dumbledore knew their scheme. He still didn't know about giving the potion to the old teacher.

He walked into the Gryffindor Common Room, where he met up with Ron and Hermione. They found him and eagerly waited fort he news.

"So?" Ron asked.

"So what?" Harry asked, grinning. He was keeping them on the edge of their seats.

"What did Professor Dumbledore say?" Hermione asked.

Harry explained that Dumbledore knew that Harry sent the letter, but he still didn't know that they gave their original teacher a potion.

"And I thought it was something dreadful!" Hermione said. She let out a small laugh, along with Harry and Ron.

Potions was the last class of the day, and everyone was winding down after dinner. Hermione sat on a large armchair reading, while Harry and Ron set up a game of Exploding Snap.

"No cheating," Ron said sternly to Harry.

"Wasn't gonna," Harry replied with a smile.

The next day was a beautiful Fall Saturday. The now golden leaves that once shone with a brilliance of summer dropped to the ground, layering it with an amber blanket. A light breeze swayed through the crisp, clean air and rustled hair or leaves. The sun shined bright enough to illuminate the air, but it wasn't blinding.

It was the perfect day for Quidditch.

Harry jumped out of bed, excited to be playing Quidditch for the first time in months. It was much too long, as far as he was concerned. Ron awoke soon after, and the two joined Hermione for breakfast.

Ron sat at the table, his right leg jiggling rapidly up and down. HE was shaking so hard, he couldn't even butter toast without knocking a whole pitcher of pumpkin juice on Harry's omelet.

"S-sorry, mate," Ron said. Hermione whipped out her wand and cleaned it up.

"Here Ron," she said gently, buttering a piece of toast for him. "Eat. You'll feel better." Ron shook his head. "Not hungry," he said.

"Why are you nervous, Ron?" Harry asked. "You're all ready on the team. You're our unbeatable, irreplaceable, un-scoreable Keeper!" Harry said with triumph resembling Oliver Wood.

"I'm not nervous, just...not hungry." Ron said. His leg was jiggling faster than the speed of light, and his freckles stood out against his paler-looking skin.

"Are you okay?" Hermione asked.

"I'm fine. Done, Harry? We should get changed for tryouts." Ron said, his voice slightly quivering. Harry quickly finished the last of his omelet and started heading towards the locker room.

"I'll see you guys later," Hermione said, leaving the Great Hall.

Harry took an extra long time to get changed. He emerged from the locker room last, wearing his Quidditch robe, holing a clipboard and quill, and his wand was stuck behind his left ear. Ron and Katie stood near the end of the field, while mostly younger students eagerly waited in the center. Harry spotted Ginny among them, and gave a small wave. He noticed that Ron's hair clashed with the maroon robes, but somehow, Ginny made it work.

HE told the team to fly two laps around the field, just to warm up. A girl and boy, probably second year, could barely get on the broom let alone ride it. Harry sighed. It was going to be a tough season.

After a few drills, things became clear to Harry. Ginny was a decent Chaser, and there was a petite African American girl named Cecily who wasn't too bad. Kirke and Sloper seemed to be the only people who could hold a beater bat and hit the Bludger at the same time. A small boy named Eric wanted to be Beater bad, but the bat was barely smaller than him.

Harry wrote notes too himself with his quill and the parchment on the clipboard. Katie occasionally whispered notes in his ear. It was pretty clear to even a stranger that Ginny and Cecily were the best Chaser options. Kirke and Sloper were the most reasonable for Beaters, and together, they made very nice half-wit.

A few hours later, Harry dismissed the hopeful students. Ron said he didn't need a shower yet, but Harry knew he sweat buckets from nerves. He said goodbye to Ron, who was still shaking and pale.

Harry decided he needed an extra long shower, not just because he was sweaty, but because it gave him a long excuse to think. He thought about the not-so-amazing Quidditch team, and about how he could get Lupin to ask Tonks to the Returning Ball.

Suddenly, it hit him. The Ball. He needed a date. He couldn't expect to set Lupin and Tonks up with out having a date himself. It would be so hypocritical.

He knew he didn't want to bring Cho. She would spend the whole night crying. Hermione was a very good friend, but he just couldn't picture her on his arm. He went with Parvati to the Yule Ball, and she was clearly unhappy with him. He couldn't think the shower any longer without drowning, so he got out of the shower and dried himself. HE needed a date.

The second time he realized it, one name popped into his head. Ginny Weasley. Harry blinked, as if his brain would change. It still screamed GINNY! at him.

HE changed, and thought more. Ginny. He wanted to bring Ginny. He couldn't, but that wasn't what he cared about. He was wondering how long. Surely not when Ginny had been so infatuated with him?

He turned the corner without thinking, and decided to pay a visit to Professor Lupin.

He knocked on the door, and Lupins voice told him to come in. He opened the door to find Lupin sitting at his desk grading papers.

"Hello Harry," Lupin said, looking up and smiling.

"Hi," he said back. "Where's Tonks?"

"Hogsmead" Lupin answered. "She needed some new quills. Is there something bothering you Harry?"

Harry thought about lying. He could say nothing, when really, there was a lot. He could talk about how he had fallen in love with Ginny Weasley, and hit him like a truck. He could talk about his dread for the upcoming Quidditch team. He could talk about how the closest thing he had to a parent was dead.

Or, he could lie.

He wasn't going to say nothing was wrong. He wasn't going to completely spill, either.

"Have you ever not loved someone when they loved you, but then al of a sudden, they stop and you start?"

Lupin smiled. "Actually I have. You never realized that you loved someone until they stopped loving you?" Harry nodded. "There's nothing you can do," Lupin continued. "If it's meant to be, it'll happen. It may feel hopeless, but you can never know. It might be good in the future."

Harry was going to open his mouth, but a knock on the door interrupted him. "Come in," Lupin said again.

Colin Creevy walked in trembling, similar to the way he did in Potions.

"Hello Colin," Lupin said.

"H-Harry," Colin began. "You-you need to get to the hospital wing," he said.

"What happened?" Harry asked, a huge knot forming in his stomach.

"Ron's in the hospital wing," Colin replied.

Well. There you go. This chapter took me a while to write. I'm not sure if it's my favorite. I added fluff AND a cliffhanger! So keep on reviewing, pretty please!

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